What Is Love?
by MissMadBerry
Summary: After an exciting school year at Ouran Academy, summer is finally here! And as the Host Club rushes to prepare for the long-awaited Summer Festival, Hikaru and Kaoru stumble upon some realizations of their own. A fluff-filled account of the twin's summer antics, rated T because I'm cautious.
1. Summer Heat

**What Is Love?**

_Author's Note: _This is my first fanfiction, so of course it had to be about everyone's favorite pair of twins! I hope you enjoy!

_Disclaimer: I do not own Ouran High School Host Club, but thank you Bisco Hatori for creating such a wonderful cast of characters!_

Chapter One: Summer Heat

_(Kaoru's Point of View)_

The lush green grass of summer was soft under my back, tickling my palm as I reached across it to grasp my brother's hand. We both were lying on a hill close to our house, our favorite relaxation spot, watching the clouds roam across the sky.

It was the last day of school at Ouran Academy, and Hikaru and I had wasted no time running upstairs after our ride home to change out of our uniforms. Hikaru had roughly thrown his into a pile in the corner of our closet, and shrugged into a tank top, shorts, and designer jacket. I had sighed, folded up my uniform and placed it aside for the maids to take care of, and slipped into a similar outfit. Afterwards we snuck out the backdoor of our garden and walked along the path, stopping to relax once we got to this hill.

As my fingers touched his he glanced at me - a little surprised - and then quickly enveloped my hand in his. His hand was warm, a heat that comforted me on a deeper level than the bright sun on my face. He was closing his eyes, one of his hands resting behind his head while the other was by his side, intertwined with mine. With his eyes closed like that, he actually looked peaceful, much different from his usually devious self. His hair moved with the wind, seeming almost golden in the sunlight. I bet that when he opened his eyes, his golden irises would rival even the color of his hair.

Usually I could console myself with the fact that I was the more level-headed twin, but I almost envied him when he was like this. He seemed so content, like he didn't have a care in the world. I kind of wish I could be carefree like that sometimes, but usually he's reckless and I'm the one that has to calm him down.

Hikaru interrupted my thoughts by nudging me with his shoulder. I turned and noticed that his golden eyes were open, his smile wide. We sat there for a moment, staring at each other. I could see a little bit of my reflection in his eyes. Although we were virtually identical by all outward appearances, we weren't exactly the same. I could tell that the person reflected in Hikaru's eyes was me, and the person reflected in my eyes was Hikaru. Maybe it's the fact he always went first, or the prospect that following him was second-nature to me. It's hard to explain, like pointing two mirrors towards each other and asking them both to describe what they see.

I was off in my own world, thinking about mirrors and golden eyes, when Hikaru's hand suddenly entered my vision. I blinked, surprised, as he waved it in front of my face.

"Kaoru, you okay?" he asked.

"I'm fine, I was just thinking" I answered, using my free hand to play and pull at the grass beside me.

"Hmph" Hikaru grumbled, "You think too much".

I was about to retort something to the extent of: _Someone has to make up for the space between your ears, _when Hikaru interrupted me.

"I'm so glad school is over" he said, pulling himself up to a sitting position and rolling his eyes, "I don't get what's so special about studying all of those dumb textbooks anyway".

Typical Hikaru.

Although I was relieved to get a break for summer vacation, the same as he was, at least I had at least tried hard during the school year. Somehow Hikaru seems to find no use in studying whatsoever. But there was still one thing…

"What about the Host Club?" I questioned.

Now that it was summer vacation, there would be no after-school Host Club meetings every day. The Club had become a fun distraction for the two of us, because of everything from Tamaki's antics to the intermittent death glares from Kyoya. Even for an interesting game like hosting is, it gets a little tiring after an entire school year full of screaming girls and crazy theme days. However, I knew that we were both thinking that without the Host Club to keep them busy over the summer life was going to get boring really fast.

After considering it for a second Hikaru closed his eyes and let out a laugh. I moved up to sit next to him as he said, "And deal with the Boss the entire summer? No way!"

I thought about it for a second, imagining Tamaki following us around, acting like a total idiot and trying to pull us into some Host Summer Camp moneymaking scheme that Kyoya masterminded. I shook the image from my head and mirrored Hikaru's smile and laugh, "Yeah, that would be a nightmare."

He shrugged, and the tailored jacket he was wearing slid slightly off of his shoulder. He let go of my hand and stood up, unconsciously brushing little bits of grass off his shorts.

"Besides," he breathed, bending towards me and placing his hand under my chin, meeting my eyes, "there are so many things we can do with just _us_."

I felt a slight blush creep into my face as he pulled me up into a standing position. His hand was warm against the top of my neck, just like earlier when we were lying down and holding hands. It was that same deep connection. After a moment I felt his hand leave my face and looked up. His previously caring eyes were now replaced with a devious gold. Hikaru had a winning smirk on his face as he shouted "Got you!" He pulled away me and, with a laugh, sprinted off towards our house.

I shook my head, trying to will the remaining pink from my face before I sprinted after him down the hill. My face was a ghost of a scowl as I ran; I hated it when Hikaru did that. When we were performing our act for the girls at the Host Club, it was just as was… an act. The only reason we both decided to join the Host Club in the first place was because we were bored, and the performances we played out for the girls who requested us were only games. Or… at least that's what Hikaru obviously views them as.

I frowned, pulling at the collar of my jacket and rolling up the sleeves. The sun on my back as I ran was starting to make me uncomfortable.

The "little devil" types fit us perfectly, and with each meeting the game of making girls scream and faint with our brotherly love act made the day a little less dull. I could deal with "Host Club Hikaru", who followed our script and sat beside me each day, smirking out of the corner of his eye. This Hikaru: the Hikaru that would whisper in my ear while we were at home and caress my face before grinning and running away was… different, to say the least.

I looked up in front of me. He was ahead, as usual, and his red hair – golden in the sun – was swaying slightly as he continued to sprint along the path to our house.

This Hikaru… it was obvious that he was just playing with me, that he didn't really mean any of those things, right? I mean, this was just another one of his games. A game of trying to make me blush? _And why did I blush?_ I thought to myself. We're brothers, twins even. He just touched my face, and we're used to being close to each other. _So why did that feel so strange?_

I shook the thought from my head as I slowed down my pace to catch my breath, my heart racing from the run and the heat. The sun was high in the sky and blinded me as I fingered the buttons on my jacket in frustration. _Curse him for making me think this much, for making me run after him._

I decided to push it to the back of my mind for now. I needed to stay calm. Hikaru was just teasing me, as he always does. And the heat in my face must have just been from the sun… just from the sun.

I looked farther up the path and found Hikaru off in the distance, walking this time. _He's waiting for me to catch up!_ I thought angrily, the heat making me lose control of my emotions again. _He could have just not run away in the first place! _I groaned and rushed to catch up with him.

When I finally caught up to him, chest heaving, he was grinning again. His hands were linked confidently behind his head as he walked.

"Finally caught up, Kaoru?" he teased, his eyes on our house, still far away in the distance.

"I wouldn't have had to if you didn't run so fast" I spat, wiping my forehead, heavily heated from the run.

Hikaru turned and looked at me when he heard my voice. I was usually the calm one. His cocky smile fell and shifted into a slightly worried look when he heard my heavy breathing and saw the sweat running down my neck. He moved his arms down and slowed to my pace.

"Kaoru, you okay?"

I looked at him, he seemed really worried. I couldn't tell him what I had been thinking, and the more time we spent outside the harder it would be to keep my temper. I had to act normal and not let the sun get to me. Trying to make him feel better I rolled my eyes.

"I'm fine, I'm just catching my breath" I lied, plastering a smile onto my face. It looked more like a grimace. Hikaru raised his eyebrows.

"I swear I'm okay" I said, after taking a couple of long breaths to steady myself. Hikaru just kept staring at me, as if analyzing my condition.

The sun shone brightly on me overhead, making the temperature of my skin rise. This time it wasn't as comfortable as when we were lying calmly on the hill. I blinked as a bit of sweat from my forehead slid down and stung my eyes.

We kept walking in silence, Hikaru looking back every couple seconds or so to check on me. The sun's rays kept hitting me and my entire body began to feel warm, uncomfortably warm. My mind became a haze as I closed my eyes for a second, hoping somehow that the shadow behind my lids would cool me down. No such luck.

My previously slow steps became a shuffle. Hikaru noticed and stopped, coming up to me. Opening my eyes, I found it hard to focus. It felt like I was burning with a fever.

Briefly I noticed that my mouth was open. I was still breathing heavily. Hikaru stared at me and spoke seriously, something uncommon for him.

"Kaoru?" he questioned, grabbing my shoulders - stopping the both of us - with both of his hands. Warm before, they were now patches of ice against my now feverish body. I slumped, and Hikaru steadied me, practically holding me up by my shoulders.

"Kaoru, you feel really warm. Kaoru? Look at me!"

Slowly I moved my eyes up and tried to focus, but the only thing I could see was his outline. The sun continued to beat down upon me; I had to get out of this heat.

Black started to appear at the corners of my vision. My body felt like it was on fire, and the flames sent me into a dizzy spell. I sputtered and attempted to face him.

"I-I'm fine, Hikaru… I'm f-" I couldn't finish the sentence and my eyes closed. I heard a thud and felt pain in my shoulder. I blinked once, focusing on a couple blades of grass before the black at the corners of my vision swallowed me entirely.

* * *

_Oh no! What's happened to Kaoru? Such a crazy start to the summer for the twins!_

Reviews, positive or negative, are loved very much.


	2. Alarm

**What Is Love?**

Author's Note: Thank you everybody for reading and for the wonderful reviews! Because I think it's polite, I'm going to take some time before our story continues to respond to the wonderful input that I recieved. I'll always do this for the first five reviews, but I appreciate each and every one! I hope everybody enjoys Chapter Two!

the unknown assassin: I appreciate you stopping to read, and I'm glad you like it so far! :)

IaraEulb: I'm really glad you love it! I did kinda end with a cliffhanger, huh? Let's hope Kaoru is okay!

Fanfic Lover: Thank you for your detailed review, and for being so nice about your criticisms. You're right about the change, and it should be fixed now. I'm glad you think the twins are in character, and I hope you continue to like the pace. Just a hint, I don't plan on moving too fast. (:

D: I'm happy that you love it. Sorry about not updating super soon, I kinda failed in that department. Apologies all around!

WillLogInLater: I'm super glad that you're enjoying it so far. I'm still working on my writing, but I do try my best! In the long time it took for me to update I hope you didn't forget about the twins and I!

Disclaimer: I do not own Ouran High School Host Club

Chapter Two: Alarm

_Breathe In. _

_Breathe Out._

_Inhale._

_Exhale._

_Stay Calm._

Hikaru wasn't listening. He was too shocked, too scared.

_Breathe, Hikaru. _

_Stay Calm._

There was that voice in his head again. He hated it. How could it possibly think that he could relax while he was staring at his brother like this?

Hikaru had been standing right in front of him when it happened. In an instant Kaoru went from barely being able to focus on his voice to a cruel plaything for gravity. It was that fast, akin to what a marionette would look like a second after having its strings cut. Thankfully, Hikaru's adrenaline had pulled him into action, so he was able to grab onto Kaoru as he fell. However, the weight of his unconscious twin unbalanced them both. They fell, with the younger twin landing hard, shoulder-first onto the ground.

Hikaru quickly recovered and gently turned his brother over onto his back. Kaoru was still covered in sweat. Without even touching his head to check Hikaru knew he had a fever.

_Breathe In._

_Breathe Out._

_Stay Calm._

"Shut up!" he shouted aloud to the little voice inside his head. He fell to his knees in the grass, feeling the sun continue to mercilessly mock them both.

"What the heck am I supposed to do?"

. . .

* * *

_(Earlier that Morning)_

It was the final day of the school year at Ouran Academy. Groups of girls dressed in traditional sunflower yellow giggled and talked to each other about their plans for the summer. The boys – excited as well – strutted though the Academy's halls, loudly bragging about their own agendas. An exciting buzz was in the air, everyone was ready for summer vacation. The talking intensified – among the groups of girls and boys alike – as Tamaki strode into Ouran Academy's main hall.

"Good morning ladies" he said to a group of blushing girls. Turning and striking a pose, he continued, "And I'll be seeing all of you after school today right?" He moved close to one girl, winking and offering her a rose. She let out a squeal and turned an even darker shade of crimson. The stars in the girls' eyes got even brighter as Kyoya appeared.

"The Host Club is having a special Summer Festival to celebrate the end of the school year," he stated, glancing around to address all of the girls in the main hall, "If any of you would like to buy a ticket, please arrive at the Third Music Room promptly once school is over." He snapped his black notebook – which he has been writing in – shut and gave the girls a small smile, before walking away down the hall. He motioned to Tamaki, who bowed deeply to the ladies before running off after the vice president.

After a couple of moments Kyoya looked over his shoulder and called out "Oh, and one more thing." Feeling all of the girls' ears and eyes on him he pushed up his glasses and added, "Tickets are first come, first serve."

. . .

* * *

Hikaru grumbled as he was awakened by the ringing of an alarm clock. Opening his eyes slightly, he quickly closed them again. He roughly threw an arm across his face, trying to block out the sunlight coming from one of the many windows in his bedroom. The maids never tried to wake up the twins directly, but made sure to come in every morning and open the curtains wide.

"Kaoru…" Hikaru groaned, pulling the covers up and over his head to block out the sunlight. Kaoru blinked slowly and stretched before turning to stare at the lump of blankets that was his brother. He let out an audible sigh. After a moment – finally aware of the ringing in his ears – he stretched over the covers to fumble with the alarm clock.

"Hey!" called the pile of blankets as Kaoru climbed over, stepping on his brother's form in the process. Finally finding the correct button, the formerly-incessant ringing stopped.

"Finally..." Hikaru sighed from the lump on the bed. His relieved tone soon turned into one of annoyance as he felt the covers being pulled off of him. In retaliation he grabbed a fistful of the material and yanked it back over his head, earning an impatient groan from his brother. Trying to relax back into his pillow, he was surprised again when it was wrenched away from him. Angry, he threw the covers off and sat up. Kaoru was standing next to the bed, one hand on his hip and the other not-so-secretly hiding the pillow out of reach behind him. Hikaru closed his eyes and groggily slid his legs so that they were hanging off of the mattress.

"Kaoru, I'm too tired for games this early…" he stated, running a hand through his disheveled hair. When no response was given he looked up at his brother. Still tightly clutching the pillow behind him, he had a calm and slightly serious expression on his face. It seemed like he wasn't quite ready for games either.

"Okay, whaddaya want?" Hikaru mumbled, still drowsy from the abrupt wake-up call.

"For you to get up. We have to get to school" His twin lectured.

"Are you serious?" Hikaru questioned, glancing at the clock, "This is even earlier than we wake up for a regular school day –". He was interrupted when a pillow slammed into his cheek. "Hey!" Hikaru shouted, jumping up and reaching out to grab his attacker. Kaoru stepped nimbly out of reach and turned to watch as his twin became unbalanced, causing him to fall flat on his face. Hikaru wasn't very graceful first thing in the morning. Giving a small chuckle at the thought, Kaoru lifted his brother up by the arm and pushed him towards the bathroom.

"Go take a shower, then hurry up and get dressed" he lectured, "You do remember that we promised Haruhi we'd give her a ride today, right?"

Suddenly, Hikaru's eyes brightened and he sped into the bathroom, hurriedly closing the door behind him.

. . .

* * *

_(Kaoru's Point of View)_

I let out a sigh as I heard the water turn on from beyond the bathroom door. Promised? We both had practically begged Haruhi to let us give her a ride to school. We had asked her many times throughout the school year, but she always declined. She always said she didn't see the point in taking a limousine to school when 'a halfway-decent person could just walk'. However it was the last day of school today, and with the threat of another fight if she wouldn't agree, Haruhi finally complied.

"Just remember to come early" she had said to our grinning faces. We then locked arms – becoming mirror images of each other –and shouted "No problem!"

'No problem' I thought. Yeah right!

"Commoners get up too early for their own good" I huffed to myself as I grabbed a towel and headed to the bathroom adjoining Hikaru's. My brother and I can easily – and usually do – share a bathroom, but I was unconvinced that he was going to get out in time for me to take a shower of my own.

Throwing the towel over my shoulder I closed the bathroom door and headed over to the shower. My hand gripped the handle and pulled, causing water to fall from the shower head in a cascade of droplets. A small smile found its way to my face as steam began to cloud the room, warming my tired body. I peeled off my pajama bottoms and stepped onto the porcelain floor of the bath. I soon felt the warm water rush over my head and my chest, relaxing my muscles.

'Taking a warm shower is a comforting way to wake up' I thought as I worked some shampoo into my hair, lightly humming to myself. A couple minutes later I turned off the water and dried myself off, tying a towel around my waist as I went to go brush my teeth.

I wiped the condensation off of the mirror so I could get a good look at myself. Although I didn't show it, I was as exhausted as Hikaru was from getting up this early. I knew it was going to be tough the moment I set the alarm for us last night. However – as I already knew quite well, with having a brother who had trouble controlling his emotions – how you expect something to happen and how it actually happens are two very different things.

Groaning I leaned in to look closer at the faint shadows under my eyes. I hadn't had a very good night's sleep, to say the least. Hikaru and I had been up until the early hours of the morning trying to beat a new video game that had just come into the market. Between levels and boss battles we had schemed, thinking of ways to embarrass Haruhi when we picked her up the next morning. Also, we had talked about ideas for our brotherly love act for the Host Club's Summer Festival.

My hand stopped, causing the brush I was now pulling through my now-dry hair to freeze as I remembered. The Summer Festival was today! And both of us had stubbornly promised Kyoya that we would get to school on time to help spread the word. 'Although,' I thought, rolling my eyes, 'just about all the girls – and half of the guys – know about it already'. Cursing myself for not remembering, I blamed it on the lack of sleep. I quickly flipped the brush in my hand, neatly parting my hair to the right as I always did. That meant we needed to go even faster.

'We still need to pick up Haruhi and not upset Kyoya' I thought and then groaned, 'who would no doubt take measures to make our summer a living hell if we arrived late'. My adrenaline kicked on at the thought and I swung open the door to the bathroom, feeling the blast of freezing air as it hit my exposed skin. Bracing myself on the doorframe, I tried to control my shivering body. Eyes locked onto our closet – my destination – I began to hurry towards it.

Suddenly my body felt a blast of warm air, unnatural to the frigid room. I slowly turned my head to check if I had indeed remembered to close the bathroom door. As I looked, it clicked. It wasn't my door that was open, it was Hikaru's.

And, of course, when I looked back I saw Hikaru himself flying out the open bathroom door towards me. Both of our eyes widened in shock as he fell. I tried to bring up my arms in front of me for protection, but they were cold, weak, and too slow.

It seemed like Hikaru hadn't prepared for the cold, and had freaked out when he opened the door. Prepared to run out, it looked like the shock set him off balance. And here I was, shocked, shivering, and about to take the result of it.

Suddenly, time seemed to speed up as a head of dark auburn hair entered my vision. We knocked heads and both fell to the ground in a heap. My head was spinning, and there was only one thought strongly present in my mind: We were definitely going to be late.


End file.
